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By:
Claudette Young,
on 3/26/2012
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Claudsy's Blog
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Writers use forums and listings nearly every day for one purpose or another. There are community forums for those in the arts, those unique to writers and critiquing, editing and polishing, and discussions on every aspect of the writing business. Listings come in almost as many flavors and scopes as forums.
Freelancers make the rounds of both communication forms to stay tuned, toned, and in demand. Today I made forays into two separate freelance jobs listings; one within a LinkedIn group of which I’m a member, and another on Elance. I was successful in finding enticing possible job contracts.
If you’ve been around this blog often, you know that I have large projects lined up for the next several months. After the previous paragraph you’re going to ask me why I would be looking for another job of any kind. That’s fair.
I could have my eye on a lovely little boat to use during the summer on our gorgeous Flathead Lake. Or, I could want to travel in Europe next year and want to have plenty in savings to play. Then again, I could simply want a better financial cushion than I have now.
Working on only one large spec project can easily keep me occupied. Having half a dozen doesn’t give me much time to spare, though I still find time for a bit of social networking. Adding a job to the mix right now would be mental suicide, I agree.
Keeping abreast of the market, opportunities, and competition within the freelance writing world, however, is necessary. A plum could present itself at just the right moment to pave the way for bigger success and greater financial security and without stopping by such job sites on a regular basis, the writer can lose out.
Call this activity checking the pulse of the industry. Writers are entrepreneurs. They need to know what’s happening. The market can shift quietly and sneakily as smoke, leaving a writer out of the loop and as adrift as sulfur vapor puffs from a starter’s pistol.
Who could have anticipated the fiction industry shift when Stephanie Meyer’s first Twilight book, or Rowling’s Harry Potter? Those two series set the tone for a major change in the MG and YA children’s book market. Hindsight tells us that vampires come into the light every few decades, their popularity undiminished with time.
Magic and all that it entails has been around since ancient Greece. Fantasy series have been big genre business for decades. The primary component of fantasies is MAGIC. Rowling presented the concept in a slightly different manner and caught the brass ring.
Reading through job listings for writers indicates where the market is moving. Three quarters of what I found on Elance this morning were content writer contracts. The Internet is vacuuming up writers for information dis
By:
Nina Mata,
on 3/2/2012
Blog:
Beautifique
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It’s definitely more appropriate to share your accomplishments, but what about rejection? This topic hasn’t really been as openly discussed as much as it should be. I’m going to wear my heart on my sleeve here and hope by sharing this experience it eases the pain a little for other creatives who’s gone through similar situations.
As a freelancer, trying to establish yourself can be quite draining.There are a few words and situations that can be traumatizing enough to threaten the livelihood of ones career. “Send me your KILL FEE” has been by far my worst and biggest fear come true.
A couple of years ago I was approached by a widely known establishment to illustrate something to go with a copy they were planning on releasing. I really wasnt clear on why I was chosen to do this commission since they wanted me to illustrate something loose and abstract. I wasn’t sure I would be able to meet their vision but I had to try. After all, this client was on top of the list of companies I’d always wanted to work with.
I spent a few days trying to create something engaging and abstract. When I sent in my inital sketches for the said artwork I got feedback to REWORK, EXPLORE, REVISE. So i did as I was suggested, days later I sent in my revisions and got the most devestating reply I had ever read:
“This isn’t working. Send me your kill fee”
(For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, a “kill fee” is otherwise known as a cancellation fee. It’s a percentage of the originally agreed upon payment that the client is required to pay should the project be terminated.)
My heart sank to my stomach. I read the message over and over again trying to wrap my brain around this horrifc sentence. I wanted to reply, no, call them to give me another chance. But I knew that pleading wouldn’t be the most professional thing to do. So I took a deep breath, ignored my quivering fingers and replied with an invoice graciously.
The days that followed were pretty bad. It felt like a really bad break up. I went through the first four stages of grief within the following weeks. At
first I denied the whole thing ever happened by deleting any evidence of correspondence. I even deleted the invoice and contract out of my records.
Afterwards I completely broke down. I cried. I cried for days (my eyes hadn’t been this puffy since they cancelled Punky Brewster) and I drowned myself in massive amounts of self pitty. After a couple of weeks, I learned to accept the loss but I wasn’t completely over the whole scenario. I took a one month break from everything. I closed the door to my studio and replaced productivity with a full days worth of sitcoms and reality shows. Fun.
If it weren’t for my family and friends, getting out of this funk would’ve been ten times harder. Having a support system helps. It
Here is a promo from the
International Freelancers Day site for the September 23rd conference:
International Freelancers Day is a day of celebration and education! And the celebrations begin right here, with the largest FREE online conference exclusively for self-employed service professionals.
Actionable Ideas, Tips and Strategies
Join us on September 23, 2011 for a special online conference like no other. You'll learn from 17 of the world's most respected professionals and thought leaders in the areas of freelancing, marketing, social media and personal development. They'll reveal proven and actionable business-building ideas, insights, tactics and strategies that will help take your "business of one" to the next level.
Network With Presenters and Other Freelancers
You'll also benefit from online networking opportunities with freelancers from around the globe.
In fact, the interaction during last year's event was one of the highest-rated aspects of the conference! Both attendees and speakers chatted back and forth on the ideas from the presentations.
From that interaction, a community of like-minded solo professionals quickly evolved. Friendships, partnerships and connections were made over the weeks and months that followed. And almost a year later, attendees are still raving about the event!
There's NO Travel!
Better yet, there's no travel! You simply attend from the comfort of your home or office.
With many economists and thought leaders heralding the arrival of the freelance economy, there's never been a better time to celebrate freelancers and solo professionals.
Register today for this free event athttp://www.internationalfreelancersday.com/thank-you-for-subscribing/Then mark your calendar for September 23, 2011 — a day that will change your business forever!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PLEASE SHARE this article, and sign-up for my Free monthly newsletter, A Writer’s World. You’ll get two Free e-books if you do!
And to be sure you don’t miss any posts here, simply subscribe to my blog (RSS feed).
If you’d like to check out my books, go to Karen’s Books Page:http://www.karencioffi.com/karen-cioffis-books-and-e-books/~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghostwriting and Editing for Businesses and Marketers
Do you need an e-book or white paper to offer for instruction, platform visibility, or a gift? Do you need blog, article, white paper, or other form of content visibility for your business? We’re professional and experienced with keywords and SEO. So, please stop by and check us out. Go to:
http://DKVWriting4U.com~~~~~~~~~~~
Until next time,
Karen CioffiAuthor, Ghostwriter, Freelance writerMember of the Professional Writers Alliance, the International Association of Professional Ghostwriters, and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors.
http://KarenCioffi.comhttp://DKVWriting4U.comKaren Cioffi Writing and MarketingLinkedin:
Just got finished attending the first International Freelancers Day online conference. It was so informative! Had fun tweeting with other attendees while the presentations were going on. There was so much I learned, and a lot I missed (will catch up when the replays are available). But here are just 10 of the take-aways I can think of right now (my mind is swimming with so much information) that would be helpful to many kinds of freelancers – illustrators, writers, graphic designers, marketers, entrepreneurs, etc.
- Pricing Implies Quality – Jonathan Fields
- Paradox of Choice - don’t overwhelm your clients with too many choices – Jonathan Fields
- Present your pricing from the highest to the lowest, because people will compare the new price in relation to the one mentioned before it – Jonathan Fields
- FUF: Follow up Forever – Michael Huggins
- ABP: Always be Pitching – Rebecca Matter
- NEVER miss your deadlines. 75% of new freelancers Rebecca Matter hired missed their first deadlines. WOW!
- Get listed on top influencers’ resource directories – Ed Gandia
- Milk the freelance life – Peter Bowerman (favorite quote - a t-shirt to be made?)
- People Don’t Buy What You Do; They Buy Why You Do It – Simon Sinek (by way of Peter Bowerman)
- Never discount, instead offer economical alternatives by taking out line items. – Michel Fortin
This is Part 1 of a 3 Part series on Subcontracting and Your Freelance Business.
If you’re just starting a freelance business, you need to step back and learn some of the basics. Whether you use other writers for resources or to actually write content, you need to be aware of a few things:
1. Make sure you have a reliable team (2-5 writers, depending on your needs)
This is crucial. As a freelance business owner, you don’t want to learn the hard way the consequences of hiring a writer who just doesn’t get it, or isn’t capable of doing the type of work required. You will end up spending a great deal of time editing and even rewriting content so it is acceptable to your client.
And, unless you’re a tough business person, you’ll do the work and end up paying the subcontractor.
A solution to this, before you have a reliable team, is to ask for a writing sample, but this isn’t always a true indicator of a writer’s qualifications. If you do hire a writer, after an article or two you can determine if this writer is right for the job or not.
Another option is to let the subcontractors write on spec. If the submitted content is suitable, you accept it, if not, you return it. The drawback with this option is wasted time. If the content isn’t suitable, you still have a deadline and may have to rush to do it yourself.
2. Create a letter of agreement
You may want to create a letter of agreement between you and the subcontractors; while this is optional, professionals advice it.
Be sure to make the agreement very detailed. Be specific as to the word count, what can and can’t be used (such as particular sites, services, or products mentioned). Include how much they will make per post or article; when the article is due, particular keywords if any, font type required, and so on. You might not think that font type is important, but if you’re dealing with 100-200 posts, and you have to proof each one, and make them all uniform, you’ll be sorry you weren’t more specific.
It might be a good idea to provide a sample article so they can see what you’re looking for.
Note: Before you quote a fee per article, take into account the administrative and organizational aspects of the job. Also take into account the costs of mailing checks to the subcontractors—all this adds up in time and money. If your client is giving you $15 per article, and you subcontract the piece for $15, you’re losing money.
This goes for hiring out for research also . . . be specific in what you want, expect, and are willing to pay.
3. Let your client know you are subcontracting some of the work
This is just the right thing to do. If a client is hiring you for your expertise and the quality of your work, he doesn’t want less than what he thinks he’s paying for. Always be upfront.
He may ask that you proof each subcontracted piece before submitting them, but that should be expected. And, the same holds true for research you hire out, you are responsible for its accuracy. This is another reason I mentioned above to take into account all the work involved in a project before you give the subcontractors a quoted fee.
Come back on Wednesday, June 15th, for Part 2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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I fell about two weeks ago, and the arm really hurt -- but I figured it was just a bad sprain, and that if I went to the doctor, he would just tell me to ice it, rest, etc. so I figured I'd save the $60 (the cost of a visit to the community health clinic).
But when two weeks had gone by and the pain was getting worse, not better, I called the clinic:
"I think my arm is broken."
"No one can see you today -- the doctor is leaving early and we're very busy."
I asked if they'd call if there was a cancellation, there was, and she did -- twice (on my way there the first time she called to say she was sorry, she'd made a mistake, that appointment had been taken already). But, eventually I did see the doctor, who was was his usual amiable but disinterested self: blabbering on about how he was leaving in a few minutes (it was almost noon), since it was the day "once a week when I take care of my own health needs."
"Once a week!" I said, surprised, and thinking he must have some serious medical condition. "What are you having done?"
"Oh, every week I take half a day for my own mental health--today I'm writing letters...." (blah blah -- by the way this half day is in addition to being off all weekend)
He looked up from his laptop briefly to feel the arm and say it might or might not be broken, and that I'd need to go to the hospital to get x-rays. I drove over there, waited another hour, and filled out more forms while the admins complained about their computer system being down and joked with each other about personal matters. Not one speck of interest shown in me or my arm here either. I finally saw the x-ray technician who greeted me by name, and seemed both competent and interested -- but said that (by law) she wasn't allowed to tell me if the arm was broken or not.
She DID ask me to wait after she'd taken the x-rays, though, and after awhile, came back and said "someone wants to talk to you."
It was an admin from the clinic who said the arm was broken. I asked what to do (cast? splint? sling?) -- she didn't know, but, when pressed by me to ask the doctor, eventually suggested that I drive to a pharmacy where, she said, the doctor would call in a splint or something. She also asked me which orthopedic surgeon I wanted to see, I said I didn't know, could she recommend one? She said she'd get back to me. (She never did.) How much the x-rays cost no one could tell me, since the computers were down, except that there would be two charges, one for the x-rays themselves and one for the radiologist (never seen or talked to by me) who looked at them electronically and ruled on whether or not there was a fracture.
So, I drove to the pharmacy -- nothing had been called in from the doctor and the pharmacist said that clinic was impossible to reach, so we picked out something together ($29) and I drove home. By this time 5 hours had passed. I tried again to call the clinic for a recommendation -- the x-ray technician had said I should see someone: "you're lucky the fracture didn't reach the joint, if it had you'd never bend that arm again."
I called a friend and got HIS recommendation -- if I was going to pay to see an orthopedic surgeon, I wanted to see a good one. The admin said "Can you get here in 15 minutes?" She said she couldn't give directions, she didn't know the area, and was acrimonious when I said in that case, I'd have to call her back once I'd google-mapped it. I did, and we made an appointment -- after she had cautioned me that "it could cost $250, do you have the money?"
All this time, my arm was hurting more and more from the driving and stress.
By the time I had found the surgeon's office, waited another hour, and seen the orthopedic surgeon, the whole day had gone by.....Though I admit that the surgeon WAS very nice, and also reassuring: when you're in pain, and wondering what's wrong, talking to someone who seems to know what he's doing is helpful and calming in and of itself; but he wasn't just knowledgeable, he was NICE. He went over the x-rays with me in detail, explained exactly what was going on, and said I'd done just the right things and that the sling I'd picked out was just fine. He added that the new theory about treating broken bones is not to restrict movement -- in England now they don't even use slings!
"But that's a bit harsh and stiff upper lip."
Luckily, he was with me, still talking, when I went to the front desk to pay and when they said it would be $250, the surgeon said:
"Just charge her for an office visit."
"How much is that?"
"I don't know, ask them in billing."
It was $75.
On the way home, thinking of all the snide comments I've heard against the "public option" and "socialized medicine," I couldn't help thinking of when I broke my arm in Ireland a few years ago. I was riding and when the horse refused a fence, fell forward and landed on my arm. The friend I was with drove me to a small country hospital; within an hour, I had been examined by a very nice doctor, given an x-ray, put in a cast, and sent home. The cost? An
optional 15 pounds, which I of course paid. The whole experience was PLEASANT, even cozy (afterwards, my friend and I went to a local pub and had some excellent Irish whisky in front of a peat-burning fire).
Here, if I had health insurance, which I don't, I would be paying at least $600 a month for it -- and would have had to pay everything I paid for the arm anyway, since for $600/month your deductible is pretty high. Our health care system is more broken than my arm (for details., listen to This American Life's
Someone else's money and
More is less)....
But, I'm happy to say that -- aside from the wasted day yesterday --
this hasn't slowed me down on my novel at all. I sent 80 pages of it to my agent and while waiting to hear what she thinks, am writing more. I've learned my lesson about waiting to hear: DON'T. Keep going, start something else, but keep writing. I read once about an author who said she knew she was a writer when her baby threw up on the page; she just wiped it off and kept going. This broken arm has been that experience for me. I was writing when the clinic called to say they could squeeze me in after all -- and I went on writing when I got home.
Hi folks, I'm Leah Palmer Preiss, a freelance illustrator & calligrapher. I work mostly for magazine & book publishers.
I've been enjoying the view here for a while now & I'm delighted to be joining such an illustrious group!
For a closer look at this painting (& lots more) please have a look at my blog, Curious Art.
By: Rebecca,
on 9/20/2007
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Since Constitution Day(which was September 17th), Mark V. Tushnet has been blogging about both sides of the Second Amendment debate. See parts one, two, and three. Today Tushnet, author of Out Of Range: Why the Constitution Can’t End the Battle Over Guns, concludes his series. He leaves us with an important idea: perhaps gun policy debates are missing the point. Keep reading to see what he suggests.
The Constitution isn’t going to end our fights over guns because those fights are part of today’s culture wars. The position a person takes on gun rights and gun control says something about how that person sees himself or herself as part of the national community, and such self-understandings resist change. Supreme Court decisions and social science studies can’t push people from one way of understanding themselves into another way. (more…)
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Excellent list,
The seminars were priceless..
Fantastic list! I must agree on all points. I have already begun to look forward to 2011!!!
Wonderful summary. Enjoyed meeting you today.
Kat
Terrific list
Very speedy. I am still at the thinking stage of what to write. I really liked Peter's presence the best. I missed some yesterday and today.
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Eileen